


Without Context

by Dove_of_Peace



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Light Angst, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, no beta we die like robins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:21:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21873598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dove_of_Peace/pseuds/Dove_of_Peace
Summary: Soulmate words AULadybug and Chat Noir have defeated Hawkmoth. Upon recieving the title of Guardian, Marinette moves to Gotham.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Jason Todd
Comments: 80
Kudos: 748





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Jason never died but is still Red Hood  
> Soulmate words start off gray and then turn a contrasting color after you hear them

Soulmate words were a pain and a half. For every unique word set there's a basic one. You would not believe the number of times you hear "Hello" in one day until you're looking for one specific person to say it to you. Marinette's words were only slightly better. Boldly displayed along her collarbone in light gray was "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

She had always been proud of those words and displayed them as often as she could. Entire designs had been created to showcase her words. And then she became Ladybug. Suddenly those words, her words were everywhere. It was one of the most common things she heard.

Jason's words were the easiest to read. Technically, he didn't have words he had a noise. Across his collarbone read "AAAAAHHHHHH!" And wasn't that a great comfort. The first thing his soulmate was going to do when they met him was scream.

After Hawkmoth was defeated, Marinette just wanted to escape Paris. It was stifling. She couldn't go out as Ladybug without everyone trying to gain her attention and going out as Marintte meant hearing all the latest about Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie's trials. Not to mention the speculation that Adrien was secretly helping his father all along. "After all, how could he have possibly not noticed his father was a terrorist," the gossips whispered furtively all over Paris. She didn't even have her partner anymore. Chat had returned Plagg to Master Fu shortly after the final battle and had asked that Ladybug not find out who he was. So Marinette was left as the sole protector of a city who didn't need her anymore.

Not long after the battle Master Fu declared her training complete and renounced the title of Guardian of the Miracle Box. There was nothing permanently tying her to Paris anymore. And so, after talking to Wayzz, she packed everything up and flew to Gotham.

After his run-in with the Joker, Jason's "word" made a lot more sense. Sure it was rude but with his scars who wouldn't scream? Especially if they weren't from Gotham. There was a reason he had the helmet made after the attack and it was only partially for the protection. And so his life continued with minimal interruptions until a new boutique opened in the fashion district.

Upon landing in Gotham, Marinette immediately opened up The Lucky Bug Boutique filled with her own designs, the store came with an apartment above it. She learned all about the city's vigilantes from her fellow shop owners. By pure luck, she glared at Tikki, the balcony of her apartment was a frequent stopping point for the Red Hood during his patrols. Over the years in Paris, it had become a tradition for Marinette to leave some baked goods out for Chat Noir to pick up on his patrols. Almost without thinking she started to leave food out for Red Hood.

Jason was confused as he swung around the fashion district. He was fully prepared to pass by the balcony he usually stopped on to check in with the rest of the team, but as he looked over he saw a plate covered in plastic wrap. As he swung over, Marinette was stealthily peering through the sliding glass door waiting to see if he would stop by. 

He landed on the balcony with his back to the door, before him, on a tiny table was a plate of cookies and a note. Opening the note he read:

Monsieur Hood,  
Please accept these cookies as thanks for  
the protection you provide to this city.  
Thank you,  
MDC

"Hood, status update," crackled over the earpiece built into his helmet.

"All quiet here Bats," he replied. "But I got some cookies from a civilian. Meet you at the cave."

A few nights later, Jason ran into MDC herself. He was on his usual patrol, route 3 variant 4. "Bats, I got a mugger, interrupting now." 

Marinette had been walking home from dinner, when she was abruptly pushed into one of the numerous dark alleyways that littered Gotham. She was just finding her bearings when a voice announced from behind her, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Before the large mass that she recognized as Red Hood crashed into the would-be mugger. The fight honestly never started. As soon as her attacker saw which Bat he was dealing with he allowed himself to be ziptied and sat patiently waiting for the police.

Red Hood turned back to the young designer and Marinette couldn't help it. She screamed, which unfortunately was picked up by Hood's mic. Within minutes the entire group of vigilantes surrounded the alley. Jason's heart dropped as he realized that this was his soulmate meeting. He tried to sneak away, but smacked straight into Batman.

"Robin, escort this man to police custody."

"Father,"

"Now."

While that exchange was happening Nightwing slowly approached Marinette. "Miss, is everything alright. Would you like someone to call your soulmate?" He asked gesturing towards her now stark black words.

"I'm fine, it's just that mask." She said with a shudder. "Wait, did l you say soul mate? Where is…" she looked around frantically. When she spotted Red Hood she pushed Nightwing out of her way to get over to him. "Monsieur Hood?" She reaches out to tap his shoulder. She frowned as he moved away from her. "Monsieur Hood," she darted in-between him and Batman so she could look him in the eye. "I did not mean to scream, it is just that your mask, it is terrible, the design is hideous."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's months late, but here's the second chapter

After a quick conference, everyone decided that Marinette would continue to her apartment accompanied by Batman and Red Hood would meet up with her tomorrow.

Jason kept giving everyone distrustful looks. They were taking this all too well. That all changed when they reached the cave. 

"Little Wing it was an honor to witness your soul meeting." Dick laughed out like the dick he was. 

Tim just collapsed with laughter on the floor after removing his cowl. "Your mask was so ugly it made her scream." 

It is amusing, Todd," Damian added, a small smirk.

"Shut it," he growled, removing the helmet. 

"Make me."

He lifted his arm, holding the offending helmet aloft. "Try me Replacement."

"Your mask is so terrible your soulmate didn't even realize you said her words until Dick pointed it out."

"That's it," he moved to chuck the helmet and himself at Tim when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

"That is enough." Bruce's voice rang out. "Jason stay here, the rest of you," he let out a heavy sigh, "go tell Alfred what happened."

"What do you want Bruce?"

"You and I are going to watch the feed."

"Feed, what fucking feed?"

"The feed I set up in your soulmate's apartment while I dropped her off."

"Fucking creep…"

Across town Marinette raced into her apartment and slammed the door behind her. "Tikki, Tikki where are you? Oh, this is terrible."

"Marinette, what's wrong?" Tikki asked flying out of the Miracle Box with Plagg, Wayzz, and Barkk.

"Well, I went out to get some ingredients so I could bake for the grand opening…"

Across town, Bruce and Jason watched in amazement as a cookie started to levitate and was eaten in midair, while Marinette was clearly talking to something the camera couldn't see.

"...and then I screamed. In his face!!!! Oh, this is terrible." She fell face first onto the couch. "You know what, I need to go on a run. Plagg, you up for it?" At Plagg's nod she shot off the couch and made a fist. "Okay then Plagg, Claws Out!"

Across town Bruce and Jason watched in shock as a light obscured her form. As it dissipated their jaws dropped at the sight of Marinette now clad in black leather, with cat ears and a bell and, nope they rubbed their eyes, no it really was a tail. They watched in shock and disbelief as she kept off the balcony and into the night. Bruce turned off the feed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Jason spent the rest of the night with more questions than he had since he woke up from the Joker's attack.

The next night Marinette sat on her balcony, a small plate of cookies in front of her as she watched Re- her soulmate swing into the seat across from her. She went to start the conversation, like a Band-Aid, she thought it was better to jump right in. But Hood just held up his hand, as he picked listening devices out of seemingly thin air and destroyed them.

She had spent the day transplanting her multitude of Queen Anne's Lace and Wild Rose plants to the boxes hanging off her balcony effectively obscuring anything a curious eye might see with a froth of pink and white flowers.

"So, in the interest of full disclosure," Hood started while removing his helmet. "Batman is a dick and bugged your apartment last night. There also was a camera, because he's a paranoid bastard, but Red Robin removed that last night after A started his "I'm disappointed in you" speech on B. But I know about the whole magical cat vigilante thing." Underneath the helmet he wore a Domino mask. Small, thin lines of discoloration were visible on his cheeks. Jason watched the gir- Marinette get visibly shaken after he revealed his scars. But then she quickly recovered and kept her gaze fixed firmly above his head and away from his ugly scars.

Marinette was startled. She was such a bad guardian. She hadn't even been in Gotham a month and already people had found out about the Miraculous. This was a disaster! A complete and utter disaster. Then out of the corner of her eye she spotted Tikki and Wayzz holding up a note that read: Soulmates are the exception! Plagg was writing something below that and when he flew off she noticed it said: Tell him the truth!

Mentally she sighed, what harm could it do. "So full disclosure, I'm kinda sorta thegurardianofmagicaljewlerythatharnessesthepoweroftinygodsthatcanbelenttohumansintimesofcrisis."

Hood blinked at her. "Um, hmm, that was a little," he paused clearly searching for the right word to use, "fast. Could you repeat that?"

"When I was 14, I saved an old man from getting run over, and in return I got a mountain of responsibilities, a more than healthy dose of anxiety, and a ton of magical jewelry that harnesses the power of tiny gods that I’m supposed to protect and no one is ever supposed to know about the Miraculouses’ existence but now you and Batman know and ugh.” Her head slammed to the table. “Tikki, can you take over?” she said without lifting her head from the table.

All of a sudden, a little red bug-thing was floating in front of him with a green, was that supposed to be a turtle? And a black cat thing that looked like it came out of some Ghibli film.

“I’m Tikki,” the red one started. “The Kwami of the Creation and this is Wayzz,” she gestured to the green one, “he is the Kwami of Protection, and Plagg,” she gestured to the cat thing.

“I’m the Kwami of Destruction, one wrong move from you or that Bat and -” he suddenly flew off.

It was then that Jason noticed that Marinette had left the table and returned with…

“Sweet, glorious Cheese! Is it… really the Epoisses de Bourgongne?”

“What have I said about cheese privileges?”

“I wouldn’t actually.” 

Marinette shot him a look.

Suddenly the Cat was back in Jason’s face. “I will not destroy the town, Kwami’s Honor. Now please let me have that wonderful smelling ambrosia.”

“As I was saying,” Tikki continued as Marinette gave the cheese to Plagg. “Kwamis came into creation thousands of years ago as the idea of what we embody was realized. First was Creation, then Destruction, and then the rest. However, we couldn’t interact with people until a mage bound us to our Miraculous, which is a technique lost to time. In time the Order of the Miraculous was created to protect the Miraculous from falling into the wrong hands. Eventually the Order fell, and a young monk escaped with the Box but the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous were lost. Flash forward a couple hundred years to Paris and Wayzz notices the activation of the Butterfly Miraculous in the hands of a holder with a negative intention. It was determined that the Ladybug Miraculous and the Black Cat Miraculous were needed to fight against the current holder, who was calling himself Hawkmoth.”

“So, you got the Black Cat?” Jason asked Marinette.

“Nope, I was Ladybug.”

“A Ladybug should be creative and compassionate, a Black Cat tends to be impulsive and protective,” Tikki explained.

“And Marinette fits both perfectly,” Plagg interrupted.

“At the time,” Tikki continued, “She was the best option for a Ladybug. After a few years, the Guardian’s identity was discovered by Hawkmoth, so he passed the title down to Marinette.” 

“So, um,” Marinette stammered, “What’s your name? Just so I can stop calling you Red Hood in my head.”

A gruff bark of a laugh burst out of Jason. “Seriously? I’m Jason, Jason Todd-Wayne.”

“Nice to meet you Jason.” Marinette didn’t recognize the name but with how he said it, it must be important.

“Don’t even recognize the name, do you Pixie?” 

“Should I? I don’t really keep up with pop culture besides fashion designers and trends.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to meet the family

“This is unbelievable. You’re probably the only person in Gotham who wouldn’t recognize that name. Wayne, as in Bruce Wayne, the Prince of Gotham.”

“Oh, is he your dad?”

“Pixie, never change. But the rest of the family is going to want to meet you soon. I let you know when.”

“Sure, my schedule is wide open.” He gave her an expectant look. “Oh, duh, you need to be able to contact me. How could I forget that? Silly Marinette, hehehe.” She babbled as she wrote down her phone number for him.

“Thanks Mari, I’ll text you later.” He said as he put his helmet back on and swung off the balcony.

As Jason left, Marinette realized how late in the day it was getting. “Gah, the shop! How could I forget!”

“Marinette, Marinette, MARINETTE” Tikki shouted. “You’re the owner, you decide when you open.”

“But the customers….” And she rushed down the stairs.

The day was fairly slow, a few people popped in to see the new shop. Jason texted around noon to set up dinner for Friday.

Right before she was about to close, 3 women entered the store. Marinette let them browse as she set up for the next day. “Is there anything I can help you with?” She asked, having run out of busy work.

“Actually, yeah,” the girl in purple replied. “Our,” she paused, clearly trying to think of the right word. “Brother just met his soulmate.”

“And you’re meeting them soon?” Marinette finished.

“Exactly! Plus, I’m sure there’s going to be a huge fancy-ass party as soon as his dad can get everything together.”

“Your site said you do commissions?” The one in the wheelchair asked.

“I do, the ready-wear can be fitted and ready for the end of the week, and commissions are dependent on the final pattern. I have a look book here if you would like to browse for ideas. We can schedule a consult appointment for later in the week...” she trailed off.

“Oh, right, I’m Barbara, this is Stephanie,” she gestured to the blonde in purple, “And Cassandra.” She motioned at the young Asian girl with them. “Later in the week definitely works for the consults.”

“So you met your Soulmate?” Stephanie asked as she browsed the racks.

“Yes, a few days ago.” Marinette sheepishly admitted. “He startled me and I screamed in his face.”

“Well, it’s better than mine,” Stephanie laughed. “Mine scared me at night and I smashed him in the face with a brick.”

That night, while embroidering on her couch, Marinette heard a thump from her balcony. Seemingly ignoring it she placed her hoop on the coffee table and reached for the bracelet she kept in her pocket. As she turned around, she saw the giant shadow, entering through her balcony door. Batman, she thought. What the actual f-

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” his low voice boomed.

“Oh look it’s the man with a giant batsuit,” She sassed back.

“It’s Batman.”

“The man with a giant batsuit.” No way was she going to let him know that he had actually frightened her. “What do you want, furry?”

“What are your intentions towards Hood?”

“Well I figured that we would ride off into the sunset together and live happily ever after.” Her saccharine voice biting through his armor. “Oh, maybe we could raise unicorns and exist off candy all day long.” She dropped the tone, “Go jump off a roof. Our plans are between us and if you want to know you should try building a better relationship with Hood. Now get out of my apartment before I call the cops.” She turned back and continued her embroidery. After he left, she locked the sliding door, no more unexpected visitors tonight. She had barely covered a petal of the flower, when she heard another thump, this one significantly lighter. One of the birds she thought.

On her balcony, Robin struggled to open the door. He had managed to get it unlocked but did not realize she kept a barrier on the track to stop it from opening. 

She sighed before getting up to open the door. “What do you want Draco?”

“My name is Robin. I do not know this Draco you refer to.”

“You poor, uneducated child.”

“-tt- How can you be worthy of my brother?” 

“Take it up with the universe, kid.” Robin was visibly getting angry with her, but she was done.

“I challenge you to a duel,” He snapped, hand flying towards his sword.

“Nope, nope, no you don’t.” Nightwing swung down and grabbed the sword out of his hand.

Unhand my sword Nightwing. She must prove her worth to join this family.”

“Robin, that is not how any of this works. I’m so sorry, Miss.” He directed towards Marinette. “Baby Bird and the Bat have issues respecting privacy. Have a good night.” He called out as he jumped off the balcony, dragging Robin with him.

“You know what,” Marinette told the kwamis that had gathered around her as she secured the door again. She cast a forlorn glance at her embroidery sitting abandoned on the coffee table, “I think I’m just going to go to bed. It’s too late for this.”

Early Friday morning, the 3 women from earlier came by to pick up their altered items. A few hours later, Marinette had worked herself up into a full panic. “Tikki,” she whined from the depths of her closet. “What am I going to wear? What if they hate me? Gahh, I can’t do this right now!”

“Marinette, whatever you choose will be fine.”

“But Tikki, this isn’t a normal meeting. This is meeting my soulmate’s family! It has to be perfect.”

“What about the Chat dress,” Plagg interjected. “It’s black and don’t you always say you can’t go wrong with black?”

She dragged out a 50s style off the shoulder Swing dress with a built in alternating neon green and black tulle petticoat.

“Oh and the Ladybug heels,” Tikki dragged out the aforementioned deceptively simple black shoes. Marinette had painted the sole and shank of the heels to mimic her original Ladybug costume.

“Hmm,” she mused. “What to style it with?” She quickly added a few loose waves to her hair, before hesitating. To bring Kaalki’s glasses or not? At a nod from Tikki she grabbed them and they shifted into a pair of cat-eye glasses. “Alright, I think I’m ready.” At that moment the doorbell rang. “Oh, that must be Jason.”

“Marinette,” Tikki said from her bag, “Don’t forget the Macarons!”

“Right,” she grabbed the box. “Thanks Tikki.”

Jason stood, leaned against the hood of a cherry red convertible. “You ready to meet everyone?”

“Can you go over everyone again on the ride?”

“Not a problem,” he opened the door to let her in. “First, we have Bruce and Alfred. Alfred raised Bruce after his parents were murdered. He knows everything and is amazing.”

“And Bruce is your dad, right?”

“Yes, he might go full Brucie on you.

“What is full Brucie?”

“Oh that’s what we call it when he acts like a total dumbass. Dick coined it, he was the first one that was adopted. He’s now a Cop in Bludhaven. After me, B took in Tim. He’s sixteen and already graduated High School, right now he’s working at WE in R&D. The last of us is Damian, he’s Bruce’s bio son. His mom showed up a coupla years ago and told B, “surprise, it’s a boy!” He’s an angry little shit.”

“Do they know that I know?”

“Nope, figured we could have fun with that. That’s why you’ll get the Brucie treatment.” Soon they pulled off the long mountain drive onto a private road where an ornate gate stood open, waiting for them. 

“They’re watching us as we pull up right?”

“Oh, most definitely.” Jason parked the car next an imposing staircase, leading up to the soaring Gothic entry.

“Wow,” Marinette muttered under her breath. “I wish I had my sketch book.”

Jason chuckled as he led her up the stairs. “You’ll have plenty of chances to sketch to your heart’s content.” As they reached the top step, the double doors swung open to reveal an older man in a suit. “See spies everywhere,” Jason murmured in her ear.

“Master Jason, welcome home. This must be Miss Dupain-Cheng.”

“Hello Monsieur Pennyworth, please call me Marinette.”

“Of course, Miss Marinette, if you call me Alfred.”

As they walked into the entry, they heard a cry of, “She’s here!” As, who Marinette could only assume was Dick, flipped off the second-floor balustrade, swinging on the chandelier on the way down. “Hi, Marinette, right?” He held out his hand to her.

“You must be Dick.”

“Aw, is Jay-bird talking about me?”

Marinette got a teasing glint in her eye. “Oh yes, he mentioned how you can’t stop yourself from jumping off of high places.” 

Before she could continue, she was interrupted by a wordless scream of unadulterated rage. “Drake, get back here and face your punishment like a man!” 

Two boys came running down the stairs, the younger chasing the older with, wait is that a katana. They really weren’t any good at this whole secret identity thing, were they, thought Marinette.

“Really Demon Spawn, you’re going to do this today?” Jason said as he plucked him off the ground. Dick was just pinching his nose in exasperation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruce wanted to make a dramatic entry, so he'll be in the next chapter


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette meets Bruce

Damian just glared at Jason defiantly.

With a sigh, Jason turned to introduce Marinette, but she was already taking care of introductions.

“You must be Tim,” She said. “I’m Marinette. It’s nice to meet you!”

Meanwhile, Dick turned to Damian. “What have we said about the katana when there’s company?” He hissed trying unsuccessfully to keep Marinette from overhearing.

“Grayson, Drake defiled my room, the insult demanded retribution!”

“I sent him to tell you our guest was arriving soon and that you needed to come down.”

“-tt- he still should not have entered.” Damian stubbornly crossed his arms, and it was all Marinette could do to not laugh. This was going to be so much fun.

“So Tim, Jason was telling me that you work in WE’s R&D department,” she said as they moved into the dining room..

“Yeah, it’s a lot of fun, we’re working to create a faster-acting antidote for Fear Gas. There’s a surprising number of explosions right now…”

“Because Fear Gas is a relatively unstable compound and it’s a miracle that it doesn’t explode before it effects you.” They completed together. Tim stared at her in shock.

Marinette gave a slight nervous giggle. “One of my friends, is studying chemistry in University, he made sure to lecture me about it, until I remembered it in my sleep.” There was a brief awkward pause, while Marinette cast around for a new topic of conversation. “Damian, do you like fencing? I noticed your katana earlier and was just wondering. Oh, I’m babbling aren’t I, shutting up in 3, 2, 1.”

“I have trained in traditional sword play but I guess fencing is the closest equivalent you would know.”

“-manners-“ Dick hissed.

“Okay, one of my friends is coming for a fencing tournament and was looking for practice partners.”

“-tt- like anyone, would be a match for me.”

“I don’t know Demon Spawn,” Jason interrupted. “Would Kagami Tsurugi be a match for you?” Jason gave her hand a quick squeeze under the table. That would but the brat in his place.

As Damian went to respond, gripping his dinner knife with suspicious force, the doors to the dining room opened again and in walked, the missing Patriarch, followed by the 3 girls from her shop earlier. He walked straight to where Marinette was sitting. “You must be Mary-Anne,” he exclaimed with a not all there look on his face.

Marinette was still surprised both from the fact that the girls’ brother was actually Jason and the “Full Brucie”, despite Jason’s warning she hadn’t expected him to commit that hard to the role but two can play at that game. “And you must Monsuir Brad. It is so nice to meet you, I’ve heard so much about you from Jason. Tell me did you really decide to go swimming in la fontaine des Médicis?”

Before he could explain, Alfred brought in dinner. “Girls, it is good to see you here again.”

“Thanks, Alfie,” Stephanie started, “We couldn’t let this become a huge sausage fest.” She dropped into a seat next to Tim, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “Right Babs?”

“I wouldn’t have put it that way but…” She trailed off.

“So Marina, what do you do.” Bruce asked with an inward smirk.

Marinette’s eye twitched imperceptibly. “I’m a fashion designer, Benjamin, I own a boutique here in Gotham.” Like you didn’t know that you furry, she thought. “So Tim, Jason was telling me you like photography, do you know any good places around here to bird watch?”

“Um,” the brothers all exchanged looks, except for Jason who was trying to mask his laughter as a cough.

“I just miss watching robins play together, my balcony in Paris got quite a few.”

Bruce was starting to get suspicious, that seemed like a very pointed comment. The rest of the meal passed without incident. Until the very end, when Tim asked who Marinette’s favorite designer was.

“Well, growing up, I loved Gabriel Agreste, but once I hit lycee he was starting to get stale. Now hmm, I love how Yhoji Yamamoto plays with fabric texture in a single color, and then Zac is excellent at inspiring fairytale whimsy while staying elegant. Jason Wu has excellent draping and colors, and I love how Shiatzy Chen merges both Eastern and Western culture. Oh and I can’t forget Anna Sui and Betsey Johnson. Their fashion is just so fun and whimsical. I can’t pick just one.”

“So,” Stephanie started with a shit-eating grin on her face. “What do you think of the local heroes?”

“You mean Batman and the rest? Well,” Marinette tapped her finger on her chin, “I have to say I’m partial to Paris’ heroes.”

“Paris doesn’t have heroes.” Damian spat out.

“Well not anymore, they all retired after Hawkmoth was defeated, but while I was in grade school, they were extremely active. Let’s see there was Ladybug and Chat Noir, they were the first two. Then they brought in Rena Rouge, Carapace, Queen Bee, Viperion, Pegasus, King Monkey, and Ryuko. They gained their power through something called the Miraculous. It took them like 6 years to find and defeat Hawkmoth and Mayura. But once they did they all retired claiming it would disrupt the world’s balance to keep the Miraculous active without an active threat.” Marinette pulled out her phone and started to search for something.

“There is no way that is true. It sounds like a child’s tale.” Damian scoffed.

“Here, it was all documented on the Ladyblog.” Marinette shoved her phone at him. “From the first battle to the final battle, Alya left it up as a tribute to the heroes.”

The family, except Jason who had already seen the videos, crowded around Damian and watched the fight against Stoneheart.

“Well that’s…” Dick paused searching for the right word. “New,” he settled on.

“I think you mean terrifying,” Stephanie corrected.

“Children, scared,” Cassandra added. She then sent a knowing glance towards Marinette, that went missed by everyone else.

“What were their powers?” Dick asked.

“Well, they were all different. Ladybug had her Miraculous Cure, which reset the damage from the fight, and her Luck Charm, as well as the ability to purify the Akuma’s Hawkmoth sent out. Chat Noir had Cataclysm, which destroyed whatever he touched. Rena created illusions, while Carapace made a shield, Queen Bee could temporarily paralyze a target, Viperion had the ability to set a fixed point in time that they could go back to but only he remembered the outcome of the original attempt. Pegasus could teleport, Ryuko could harness the elements, and King Monkey wasn’t around enough to really know his power. Hawkmoth used the power of the butterfly to take control of people via their emotions, and Mayura had the ability to infuse inanimate objects to create Amoks to split up the heroes. There’s rumors that there were other heroes, but no one knows for sure.”

Several hours had passed at this point and it was time for Marinette to go back home. Jason and her said their goodbyes and headed towards his car. “See Pixie, it wasn’t that bad,” he said as they sped away.

“God, I know you warned me about Brucie, but if he called me the wrong name on purpose ONE more time…” She trailed off.

“You got him back though, I almost died again at his face when you called him Brad.”

“Also, how does your family even manage to keep a secret identity? They literally were so obvious.”

“Most people don’t know what to look for. Plus, they weren’t as discrete tonight as they normally are. They know that eventually, you’ll know as well.”

They pulled up in front of Marinette’s apartment too soon. “I wish I didn’t patrol tonight,” he whispered as he brought their foreheads together.

“I don’t know,” she whispered back, “I might do some bird watching tonight.”

“From your balcony or…”

“Well, it might be time to set a Cat among the pigeons. Good night.” With a quick peck on his cheek she jumped out of the car and ran upstairs.

  
Back at the Manor, the rest of the family was left wondering. "Do you think she..." Dick started.

"How could she? We've been so careful." Tim continued.

"But that comment about Bird Watching..." Babs added.

"We'll see but now it's time to Patrol." Bruce said ending the conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, here's Chapter 4. Next up: ????

**Author's Note:**

> Cross posted on Tumblr where I'm maribatlife. Inspired by this post: https://maribatlife.tumblr.com/post/189700684767


End file.
